Dozens of flights have been cancelled or delayed out of Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) Wednesday night, with Environment Canada issuing a winter storm warning for the City of Toronto as of 5:55 p.m. EST on Feb. 22.
At around 9 p.m. EST, 110 flights (roughly 20 percent) had been cancelled, with another 126 (about 24 percent) delayed, according to
Flight Aware, an online flight tracking website.
The airport also cancelled 79 departure flights (about 14 percent), and another 215 (40 percent) were delayed.
The Toronto
forecast indicates snow, heavy at times, and ice pellets, with an accumulation of 15 to 20 centimetres. Accumulations may be lower if a region experiences a long period of mixing with ice pellets and freezing rain, notes the advisory.
Continuing to early Thursday morning, the city is at risk for freezing rain and light ice build-up on solid objects, with northeasterly winds gusting 50 to 60 kilometres per hour. Environment Canada warned travellers to be prepared for reduced visibility in heavy snow and local blowing snow, mixed with ice pellets.
Earlier on Feb. 22, Toronto Pearson Airport posted a weather alert on
Twitter, warning travellers to check their flight status with airlines before leaving for the airport. Later in the evening, the airport
posted a photo of snow plows, noting delays were possible, with ground crews working hard in challenging conditions to ensure passenger safety.
“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas,” Environment Canada said.
In a
Twitter post on Feb. 22, Air Canada said a “goodwill policy is in effect permitting customers to make flight changes,” in light of the winter storm headed for Toronto Pearson.
Billy Bishop Airport also warned that winter weather conditions may affect operations. “Please check with your airline for flight status and updates and give yourself plenty of time to travel to the airport,” the airport posted on
Twitter.
